After months of taking incoming rounds from the Democrats, President Bush returned fire in a 30-second ad the Republican National Committee is running in Iowa.

* After months of taking incoming rounds from the Democrats, President Bush returned fire in a 30-second ad the Republican National Committee is running in Iowa. The ad says that "some are now attacking the president for attacking the terrorists," and "some call for us to retreat, putting our national security in the hands of others." The response from the Democratic field indicates a direct hit. The rules of engagement they seek to impose permit hysterical charges against the president, but disallow any counterattack as an illegitimate questioning of his opponents' patriotism. Senator Daschle demanded the ad be pulled. According to Wesley Clark, the TV spot amounts to accusing Democrats of "somehow aiding the enemy" and is a violation of "the pledge the president made not to exploit 9/11 for political purposes." It's the Democratic candidates for president who have made Bush's conduct of the War on Terror central to their campaigns. The RNC shouldn't be faulted for turning up the heat in the Democrats' chosen kitchen.